Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials

Edited by Suzannah Linton

Provides a detailed analysis of the under-explored British military trials that took place in Hong Kong in 1946-48, in which 123 defendants were tried for war crimes

Offers a comprehensive assessment of the trials, highlighting how they contributed to the development of notions of joint criminal enterprise, and the defense of superior orders

Demonstrates the importance of these trials in their historical context

Includes contributions from leading authors in the field of international criminal law

Contains an interview with Major Murray Ormsby, former prosecutor and judge at the Hong Kong war crimes trials

Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials

Edited by Suzannah Linton

Description

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the British military held 46 trials in Hong Kong in which 123 defendants, from Japan and Formosa (Taiwan), were tried for war crimes. This book provides the first comprehensive legal analysis of these trials. The subject matter of the trials spanned war crimes committed during the fall of Hong Kong, its occupation, and in the period after the capitulation following the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but before the formal surrender. They included killings of hors de combat, abuses in prisoner-of-war camps, abuse and murder of civilians during the military occupation, forced labor, and offenses on the High Seas. The events adjudicated included those from Hong Kong, China, Japan, the High Seas, and Formosa (Taiwan).
Taking place in the same historical period as the more famous Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, the Hong Kong war crimes trials provide key insights into events of the time, and the development of international criminal law and procedure in this period.

A team of experts in international criminal law examine these trials in detail, placing them in their historical context, investigating how the courts conducted their proceedings and adjudicated acts alleged to be war crimes, and evaluating the extent to which the Hong Kong trials contributed to the development of contemporary issues, such as joint criminal enterprise and superior orders. There is also comparative analysis with contemporaneous proceedings, such as the Australian War Crimes trials, trials in China, and those conducted
by the British in Singapore and Germany, placing them within the wider history of international justice. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of international criminal law and procedure.

Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials

Edited by Suzannah Linton

Author Information

Suzannah Linton is Professor of International Law at Bangor Law School, Bangor University, in the United Kingdom. She is on the IEF Steering Board and coordinates Working Group 5 on Trial Proceedings. Professor Linton was previously at the University of Hong Kong, where she directed the LLM in Human Rights programme from 2005-2009. Professor Linton teaches Public International Law, and specialised options such as International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. Professor Linton has wide practical work experience with international courts and tribunals, and international organisations, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She
recently launched a major website providing global access to Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials, as part of the same project that has resulted in this book.

Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials

Edited by Suzannah Linton

Reviews and Awards

"The military courts working in Hong Kong between 1946 and 1948 sent out a message to the world that the rule of law should be based on reason and justice - and not on military force. That is why this collection of essays, examining the legal framework of those trials, remains of contemporary relevance. As Suzannah Linton observes, this is not just a question of compelling Japan to address the crimes that its army committed within living memory throughout Asia. It remains a critical issue because the punishment of war crimes is of continuing importance to the human race." -- David Blake Knox, Dublin Review of Books

"These authors' insights reflect their different disciplines and professional experiences. Although the assembled essays are meant chiefly for readers with an interest in international criminal law and procedure, historians of the aftermath of the Second World War will find that they throw light on a neglected area of their subject ... the book's thematic approach to studying the Hong Kong trials ensures that it will be of great interest to both historians and legal scholars ... It is an extremely useful addition to our growing understanding of the "B" and "C" class war crimes trials held after the Pacific War." -Georgina Fitzpatrick, Michigan War Studies Review